Latest Report on the Condition of the Leaders of the Green Movement ~ Illegal House Arrest Approaches 1300 Days
By Banooye Sabz
September 1, 2014
The following is a summary of the latest report from Kaleme dated Sunday September 1st, 2014 regarding the condition of the Leaders of the Green Movement Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, now under illegal house arrest at their residence on Akhtar Street since February 2011.
- More than a year following the election promises by Hassan Rohani, opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard continue to remain under an illegal house arrest.
- Despite the fact that we are fast approaching the 1300th day of this illegal house arrest, there has been no accountability by any legal entity or official within the ruling establishment for the reasons behind and the length of this illegal detention.
- All political efforts to work towards a possible lifting of Mousavi, Rahnavard and Karroubi’s illegal house arrest have failed.
- The security measures surrounding Mousavi and Rahnavard’s illegal house arrest have become more stringent in the past few months.
- The leader of the Green Movement and his wife have been deprived of regular visits to Zahra Rahnavard’s ailing, old mother over the past few months. Despite the fact that Mousavi and Rahnavard have not been afforded legal due process, under the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, all prisoners nevertheless have the right to visit their immediate family members.
- Mousavi and Rahnavard’s daughters have been allowed weekly visitation with their parents. The date and times of the weekly visitation have however been erratic and unpredictable.
- Mousavi and Rahnavard are deprived of all communication with the outside world during the week. Their family members are not allowed to contact them under any condition other than the weekly one and a half hour visitations.
- Since Ramadan, the one and a half hour visitations have taken place in a building belonging to the ministry of intelligence, across from Mousavi and Rahnavard’s residence. Though the family is allowed to have dinner together, video cameras have been installed throughout the property. The entire visit is filmed and all conversations are recorded.
- The security measures during the weekly visitation have become increasingly more stringent. The number of security officers present during the weekly visitations has increased in the past few months.
- The family continues to be concerned about the sanitary conditions surrounding the illegal house arrest. There is also significant concern regarding the possible contamination of the living environment and the food provided to the leaders of the Green Movement. Mir Hossein’s daughters have repeatedly warned high level officials of their concerns, demanding an official inquiry into the living conditions and environment at Akhtar prison. The fact that Zahra Rahnavard is once again suffering from shaking in her hands only further augments the family’s concerns regarding potential contamination of the living space and the food given to Mousavi and Rahnvard; particularly as both Mousavi and Rahnavard were in excellent health prior to their illegal house arrest.
- Mousavi’s family has repeated stated that even if government officials are not in a position to lift the house arrest, they should at minimum address the issues surrounding their parents’ illegal house arrest, such as ensuring a safe and healthy environment, providing them access to newspapers, allowing regular telephone contact with family members during the week, etc. Unfortunately the unacceptable conditions remain in place despite the promises by Hassan Rohani’s new government.
- Despite examinations by physicians and a written recommendation for treatment, both Mousavi and Rahnavard continue to be deprived of medical treatment. Both have developed issues with their vision during their illegal house arrest. Although physicians trusted by the government and the family have recommended eye surgery for both Mousavi and Rahnavard, no steps have been taken in recent weeks to address this issue and they remain deprived of treatment.
- Mousavi and Rahnavard’s daughters have refuted the recent rumors of a meeting between their parents and Shamkhani the head of the Supreme National Security Council, reiterating that there parents have had no meetings with the ruling establishment including any members of the newly elected government. Their isolation has led many to believe that the opposition leaders have been forgotten.
- The family reports that Mir Hossein Mousavi continues to receive cardiac treatment at home.
- Though Mousavi and Rahnavard have been provided with access to a number of art related books and magazines, they remain deprived of access to any newspapers or news source related to the outside world. Outside the weekly visitation with their daughters and a phone call to Rahnavard’s mother during the weekly visitations and a handful of phone calls to other member of the family, Mousavi and Rahnavard remain incommunicado.
- More than a year following the election promises of now president Hassan Rohani and the post election statements by the government spokesperson and other political figures, promising an end to the illegal house arrest of the leaders of the Green Movement, no specific action has been taken to ensure the freedom of Mousavi, Rahnavard and Karroubi. The relative silence of the newly elected government regarding this matter, coupled with the lack of any tangible result has led many of Rohani’s supporters to lose hope regarding his campaign promises, leading Rohani to reiterate his determination to implement his campaign promises in the past few days. Although the priorities as per insiders remains elsewhere, the government of Hassan Rouhani has yet to define specific actions and a timeline for campaign promises such as the lifting of the illegal house arrest of the Leaders of the Green Movement, the release of political prisoners and easing of the security environment facilitating the creation of political parties and freedom of the press just to name a few.
Source: Kaleme:
http://www.kaleme.com/1393/06/09/klm-196378/
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Banooye Sabz
http://banouyesabz.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/latest-report-on-the-condition-of-the-leaders-of-the-green-movement-llegal-house-arrest-approaches-1300-days/
